Many individually addressable lighting control solutions currently offer control of lighting for demand response purposes where specific lighting or power levels can be defined for individual fixtures, groups of fixtures, or control devices once they are installed. However, because these devices include a microprocessor and need to be given a digital address to respond to commands, significant commissioning time and services are required upon installation in order to set the desired control output when a demand response signal is received. This commissioning usually requires someone to first locate the desired node by flashing a fixture or light emitting diodes (LEDs) on a light fixture or lighting device, naming the device, and then storing the device address in a database in order to ultimately use that device in a control algorithm. The level of technician typically required to complete the commissioning has a different skill set than that of the person installing the lighting fixture. Therefore, two different people are typically necessary to complete the installation and programming of the lighting fixtures. This additional commissioning increases the amount of cost, time, and coordination, which may result in a significant barrier to the adoption of demand response for such devices and controls.
Further, a utility (defined below) may encourage or sponsor a demand response program to a consumer. In such a case, the utility may periodically require an audit be conducted to verify devices (e.g., the existence of the connectivity thereof, the operating parameters thereof, the operating compliance thereof) that are controlled for the demand response program. Auditing such devices takes time and adds costs, which may also result in a significant barrier to the adoption of demand response for such devices and controls.